Wanderlust Envy

I have a serious case of wanderlust. Every once in awhile I have the fleeting thought of "What if I just took off. Just left. Traveled the world. Did odd jobs to make money. Went to see everything I've ever dreamed of seeing (Rome, Athens, China, Japan, etc) in person. People do it all the time. I could just disappear for awhile. It would be so freeing to just leave and go somewhere where noone needed/wanted/knew me." But...I know that's not possible right now. Damn ball n' chain of a husband. (Love you.)
So since I can't exactly travel as much as I want, I read books about it.

I just finished reading this book:


Smile when you're lying was an interesting read. The author, Chuck Thompson, has been a travel writer for many years. In this book he basically tells you about how big of a fraud the travel industry is. It was an eye-opening experience.

Thompson shares stories about travel from different points in his life. You learn about what happens when you get robbed in Thailand, what to do if you get into a run-in with the Mexican police, and that you really don't want to travel alone at night in the Philippines.
Thompson's writing style is what originally sucked me in. It's reminiscent of Hunter S. Thompson's rambling/run-on sentences style of writing. But what really sealed the deal on me picking up this book is the first few paragraphs in the introduction. Check out this excerpt:



How can you not want to read on and find out what other shenanigans this dude got himself into? Even if you don't like Thompson's travel tales, you will get some great tips about what not to do in a foreign country and how to spot tourist traps. It's definitely a book that I will keep in my collection.

Take a look, it's in a book! Reading Rainboooow.

Butterfly in the skyyy....I can go twice as high..

I'm pretty sure my love of reading began with watching
'Reading Rainbow' on PBS. We only got 4 channels in
my house so it was either that or 'The Young & the Restless'.

I have always loved to read and it's frightening how the
young people of today say they only read maybe one book
every year. Really..I took a poll in one of college classes.
One book a year. That is pathetic.

I watch TV. I go out and do things. But I still have time to read!
I shell out 50 clams every time I go into a Borders. I'm that aunt
who always buys books as gifts. I think I could literally
die (DIE!) if I could never read again.

Everyone should read. Even if it's comic books or the
friggin' TV guide! As part of my crusade to get more
people to pick up a book, I'm going to post about each
and every book that I have the pleasure of perusing.
And I usually read anywhere between 4 to 7 books a month.
So get your read on people!


Today's Selection is....
Downtown Owl by Chuck Klosterman.

This book is set in a small town in North Dakota. You follow 3 main characters
throughout the book. Mitch, a high school student, Horace, an old dude that
drinks coffee and reminisces about the good ole days, and Julia, a big city girl
(All the way from Minneapolis!) who starts her first year teaching in this small podunk town.

As a person who comes from a small town where everybody
knows your 'biznass', this book was on par with the kind
of shenanigans that I have been privy to. Lots of funny stories
about the crazy characters that make up this small town pepper the
pages of this book. There is also a chapter where Mitch, during an English test, compares living life in a small town to George Orwell's 1984. This part was eerily hard to disagree with. If you've ever lived in a small town you know that potentially everyone is Big Brother.

Downtown Owl is a good quick read that will make you think
about...what does being normal really mean? And aren't people
everywhere, small town or big city, really just the same?
Check it out and tell me what you think.

Howdy Howdy Howdy

What up people of the Internets! I decided I didn't have enough
ways to waste my time on the internet. So I'm goin' bloggin!
Woo-hoo! Break out the nice plates, it's time to celebrate!

I'm pretty shy in my everyday life. Most of the time I'm that super
quiet person in the corner or against the wall when I go out in public.
It takes me awhile to open up to people. Which is a good thing
because my sense of humor falls on the dark side a lot of the time
and I tend to have eclectic taste in everything. This means I like
many things. So this blog is to let everyone/anyone know what
those things are.

I'll mostly talk about books (because READING IS AWESOME!),
music (because it makes the world go round and is AWESOME!),
movies/television (because everybody loves some of that) and
whatever else I am currently in like/love/obsessed/fascinated with.

Please stop by and take a look-see. Maybe tell me what you think
about what I think. Or just enjoy me making a fool out of myself
on the internet every Monday thru Friday.

-KBL